Things I'm into right now

Time for a list.

• Peppermint tea.  Still.  It's just so yummy!
• My instagram app!  I love it!
• Gummy worms.  Don't ask.
• The daffodils that have bloomed in my front planter box. Spring is comin'!
• The DIY network.  We are getting a free preview and I seriously love this channel!
• Um, Saturdays.  Nuff' said.
• The new Decemberists album.
• Jalapeno poppers.  Hot damn!

 More to come soon!

Little New News

Okay, maybe he's not so little.

Twenty Eleven

The down time after Christmas and New Years always seems, for me, to take a while to come out of. I feel the rush and excitement and build up and then, just like that it's over. The gifts are opened, the dinner is cooked and consumed, the new year rung in, the tree comes down and then it's just, you know, January.

Don't get me wrong, January is a very important month. My darling Marty's birthday is in January. He'll be 30 again. Then comes February, and more gray skies. Followed by March, with, you guessed it, more gray skies.

I did clean and re-organize the pantry last weekend. That was an undertaking, but I did it! Successfully too. We are planning a garage sale for spring, (see there! Spring talk again.) I was able to get a good stash of garage sale items weeded out. Unfortunately, I had to NEATLY pile it all back in there to store for the above mentioned garage sale.

However, I haven't lost all hope in winter. There are still some things I am loving right now...

• Painting my fingernails.  Right now, they are a tantalizing green.  Think shimmery Kermit.
• Da Bears.  Big game this weekend!
• Peppermint tea, yes still.  We've been drinking it nightly to help avoid drinking other things and stuffing our faces with cake. Or cookies.  Or chocolate.  Or pie.
• The five pounds I've lost so far.  We started "the diet" again and it's working.  (As long as my self-control can stay, you know, controlled.)
• My new leopard print bathrobe.  It's SO soft and cozy.
• The fact that we get to take a mini vacation to Vancouver BC in a couple weeks to see Interpol!
• Fiesta Ranch dip (with low-fat sour cream, of course!) Considering how many vegetables I have to eat this stuff saves the day, big time!

 I think I need a project to keep me busy with all this gray outside.  Let's see, I think I wrote a list a while back... May have to find that and see what I can do to keep myself busy.

Note

Well, I was raving about Sabra Hummus a few posts back.  So far we've tried the regular flavor, DELICIOUS, the roasted garlic, YUM and now the Spinach Artichoke.  Now, I LOVE both those things.  Spinach and artichokes, together, separate, with other things.  But this hummus, uh, not a fan.  AT ALL. 

Sabra, I think you need to go back to the drawing board on this one.  Stat.

I'm listening to The Cure's Album Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me today.  Dang, it's so good.

Things I love right now.....

In no particular order:

• Peppermint Tea
• HD T.V. (shhhhh, don't tell anyone I said that).  We finally upgraded our service and I can't believe we watched such a bad picture for so long.  Food Network has never been better!
• The Chicago Bears!  We whooped the Eagles and it was AWESOME, even though it wasn't televised, we listened to Bears radio and cheered!
• Sabra Hummus.  The original flavor, although while looking at their website I discovered they have JALAPENO!  My grocery store doesn't carry this flavor.  I may have to make a phone call.
• The snow melting!  It's almost gone!
• Wool socks.
• My bird friends.  I've had the following visitors, Varied Thrush, Black-capped Chickadee, Steller's Jay, Evening Grosbeak, Eurasian Collared-Dove (this guy is a fatty!), Northern Flicker, and a few others.

We're back to work and school this week after the snow.  The kids had a nice long Thanksgiving break.  We survived our trip to Oregon and had a great Thanksgiving.  More on that later!

The whirlwind of suprise

The weekend before last I received quite a surprise.  This is no small feat.  I am not an easy person to fool.  I am incredibly static and any time there is the slightest difference in the routine I'm aware.

I knew my Husband was up to something for the past few weeks.  I was growing exceedingly suspicious, and nervous, and anxious.  See, my birthday was around the corner.  He was planning something, but I could never quite put my finger on it.

Two things I knew, or I should say I thought I knew, were my best girl friend and her husband were coming for the weekend after my birthday and we were all going out to dinner to celebrate.

That Saturday started like most, sleeping in, sipping coffee, watching DIY network to get pumped up about remodeling, you know the usual.  We made our grocery list, home depot list, and wal-mart list.  What can I say, I like lists.

After tackling Home Depot and Wal-Mart we made our way back into PA and proceeded to dink around.  A stop at a new quilting store I'd wanted to check out and a stop at the antique store, Marty had a chair he wanted to show me.  We found a few used records and I thought we were then heading to the grocery store, after all it was getting late in the afternoon and I needed to get home to get dinner started.

One more stop he assured me.  "I need to look at the menu for next weekends dinner," he said calmly.

Down the street we walked, hand in hand.  We ascended the dark stairs in to the restaurant, turned the corner to the back room and proceeded down the long hall.  It wasn't until we nearly entered the back room I realized what was going on.

All my closest friends and family were there patiently waiting for my arrival.  Waiting to surprise me.  And every one of them was dressed up like someone from the 80's!  Even the kids!  Madonna, Maverick from Top Gun, Claire from The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller twice!  There was Marty McFly, Magnum PI, Prince, Cyndi Lauper, Axl Rose and his "I'm with the band" girl.  It was like going back to 1985!  

I can honestly say I was COMPLETELY surprised.  All this time I was suspicious of the wrong weekend!  He had me so mixed up.  I really have to give him credit because I'm so nosy and apprehensive.  I imagine it wasn't easy for him.

Marty donned his Dr. Venkman (a la Ghost Busters) costume and informed me my costume was waiting in the bathroom.  About 20 minutes later I re-appeared as Jem, pink wig and all.

It was a perfect way to turn 30.  Thank you Marty for the amazing party, for the wonderful cake, and the great memories I'll keep from that night!  You completely and wholly outdid yourself.  It was the best party I've ever had and ever been to (except for our wedding, that was a pretty kick ass party)!  You are simply the most amazing, wonderful Husband a girl could ask for.

Summer recap in photos, part III

We went to Philadelphia.


























We had an 18th birthday.










We did some hiking.







AND thank goodness, school started.

Summer recap in photos, part II

We attended a very special wedding and then had a kick ass wedding reception in our back yard.




























We went to Hawaii.




















Stayed tuned for the last installment, part III!

Love, we gots it.

Labor Day Post, or good bye summer, hello fall

Labor Day came and went, and promptly, as if on cue, fall is here. It rained ALL DAY. We're not talking a sprinkle either. It poured. It felt like fall too, crispy air, temptation to turn on the furnace, the craving of hot tea. Dang, fall is here.

There are a few good things about fall though. The kids go back to school, YESSS!, soup is a more acceptable dinner, I feel like reading more, the leaves start to change, and I can focus on some indoor projects that have been haunting me.

I've got a whole list of things I want to accomplish this fall and winter. Marty is busily working on our never ending remodel and as much as I'd like to think I'm awesome help to him, I mostly just end up in the way. So I think I'll try and whittle my to do list down instead of thinking I'm some kind of carpenter.

1. Build a new head board, like this.
2. Sew a duvet cover.
3. Lose 5 more pounds and KEEP them off.
4. Make soup for dinner more. (I know I said this up there, and the truth is even though soup is a great dinner for fall, I don't make it nearly enough.)
5. Sew a proper circle skirt and wear it with a crinoline.
6. Get a better understanding of Photoshop.
7. Turn 30. I don't really have much say in this, so since it's inevitable, I'm embracing it.
8. Make doughnuts at home, from scratch. (This totally contradicts my losing 5 more pounds and actually might be the reason I need to lose those pounds. Dang sweet tooth.)
9. Re-organize the pantry.
10. Blog more. (That's a good one huh!)
11. Paint one wall of our new bedroom with stripes.
12. Find a old piece of furniture so I can do this.

I'm sure there are about a billion more things I can add to this list, but I don't want to overwhelm myself and not accomplish anything because I've worked myself into a tizzy and can't decide what to start first.

Maybe I'll start working on the pantry this weekend... maybe.

Things I'm diggin'

Things I am currently loving:

• Blue Diamond Wasabi & Soy Sauce Almonds
• Back to School
• Arcade Fire's new album, The Suburbs
• Martha Stewart home paint
• Home grown tomatoes, although there hasn't been a bountiful harvest, the few I've gotten are wonderful!
• My birthday shoes that came last night. LOVE THEM!
• My Nikkor 50mm 1.8 lens
• Did I say Back to school yet?
• My new Contigo travel coffee cup, no more spills on the drive to work!
• Knowing we have a gift certificate for sushi that we've been saving for the perfect date night!
  

Idle chatter

Oh how we are all counting the days until vacation...  I think we're all relishing in the fact that we can pack up a suitcase, don a hat, scoop up a plane ticket and escape reality for a week.  ALL OF US.  Well, except Reuben, who thinks Disneyland would be a better place than Hawaii.  Pffft.  He has no idea.  I honestly think he's going to commandeer the plane and stop in Anaheim.  Although landing may be an issue he hasn't thoroughly thought out.

Life has been non-stop around here.  Birthdays, yes I am working on a post for the Monk's birthday, Anniversary parties, okay really it was only one party, and graduation is tomorrow!  Egad.  OH and baseball, but that's over now.   Solomon's team came in 3rd place overall, and 2nd place in the west side teams.

We finally had some good weather around here, albeit short lived, but we were able to get the tomatoes and peppers planted.  The weather has gone on vacation again, leaving us with clouds, rain, and wind.  I'll be lucky to get one tomato this summer.  I'm beginning to think summer has forgotten about us.

I'm still not done with my dress.  I've got to make a few, uh-hm, adjustments to the bodice and really I just haven't had the time.  I'm hoping this weekend, but now that I think about it, maybe not.  I think next weekend looks a bit more promising.

And, in closing, since we've been having so much fun light painting, a few shots from a couple weeks ago.  Marty surprised me with a cold cathode.  The red light in the pictures is the cold cathode.  We've got a few more ideas in mind, just as soon as we find a little more time.

A whole lot of nuthin'

We've been doing a whole lot of stuff, but a whole lot of nuthin' is getting done. I swear Marty and I have been running like marathon competitors but we never seem to get to the finish line. Maybe that's called being a parent?

The weather has been CRAP here. My tomatoes and peppers still aren't planted and the lawn went almost two weeks without being cut because it wouldn't stop raining. Marty had to take a survival pack and a machete with him when he ventured out Tuesday night to cut the grass.

Marty's brother, Keith, is getting married to a fabulous lady, Mari, this summer. They live in Colorado, but are coming up here to tie the knot. And you know, me, being a brilliant as I am decided that making a dress for their wedding was the smart and cheap frugal thing to do. Well, heh. Can I just say, boy was I wrong. $70 bucks worth of fabric later... I've been buried in tulle for, oh, maybe 9 hours now and I haven't even attached the bodice to the skirt yet. Oi. About 45 minutes into the first sewing session, I decided I could have bought a killer dress for less than I paid for all the fabric and saved myself the obsessing and stress. If I actually finish it and it actually fits, I'll let you know. If it doesn't, then I'll never speak of this little mishap again.

School is almost out for the summer, 11 days to be exact, and the boys are ready. Summer is already shaping up to be a busy one... Keith and Mari's wedding, then we'll be taking the boys to Hawaii for some much needed R & R, and then the first week of August Marty has a mandatory meeting in Philly and I get to go with him! Sqeeee! The furthest east I've even been is Montana. Liverty Liberty Bell here I come!

Reuben will be graduating in 11 days as well. I have to say I am really proud of him. He's worked hard this last year of high school and is really turning into quite the articulate young man. He's registered for summer classes at PC already and will have no time off, straight to summer classes after graduation.

Today is Solly's 13th birthday! Mazel tov! A birthday post will be coming with photos after our celebration tonight. He's requested pot roast, so that's been a cookin' in the crock pot all day. Can I get an AMEN for the crock pot!?

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